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Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep is a Buddhist temple just outside of Chiang Mai. It is one of the most important temples in Chiang Mai and definitely a major tourist attraction. It is located on top of a mountain and so to get there, mi mascota and I rented a motorbike.

Renting a motorbike saved us an incredible amount of money on our trip and allowed us to do the tourist attractions at our own pace and only see what we wanted. A lot of the tourist packages are 8 hour days and make all these ridiculous stops at shops and other sights that we aren’t interested in. Plus, to get to Doi Suthep (which is actually the name of the mountain that the temple is located on, but its what everyone refers to it as), takes only about 20 minutes. Why do I need an 8 hour day for this? The tour cost 500 baht each ($15-16 bucks), when we can rent a motorbike for a full 24 hours for 250 baht? Thanks boyfriend for being able to drive these things!

This temple is also known for having to climb 300 steps to get to the top. Sounds like a lot, but really, its nothing. The way leading to these steps is filled with vendors selling food and nick-nacks.

This is me at the bottom of the steps. Are you starting to notice gold?

Emilio, as we started to descend the stairs.

Once you climb the 300 steps, there is a tourist entry fee (30 baht or $1). And as a girl, you have to be covered up. I was wearing my new favorite tuk-tuk dress and since it showed my legs, I had to pay 10 baht (like 33 cents) to “rent” a wrap skirt so my legs were covered. We also had to remove our shoes.

This is the main temple and man oh man – it is sooo gold! You seriously can’t look straight at it without sunglasses if sun is shining because it is blindingly gold. It’s pretty amazing though. I haven’t been able to figure out what it’s actually made of, but I heard its copper plated.

One of the many shrines. At the center is the temple, and then all around, you can walk around and see elephants, buddhas, and other shrines and gardens.

Buddha.

Nerd

There is also a pretty great view of Chiang Mai since you are at the top of the mountain. All my pictures of that are crowded with tourists though. Overall, we were probably here about 2 hours – a much better time frame than the tourist package! The only bummer? We got a flat tire and had to pay a guy 160 baht to fix a problem we couldn’t even see. Our rental company refused to reimburse us because we didn’t call them within half a hour and after that, your waiver says your liable. Right, call them. Tourists always carry cell phones in foreign countries!